Young returned to the lineup Wednesday after missing Opening Day with a mild right quad strain, but aggravated his injury chasing an Adam LaRoche fly ball in the top of the first. Though Young stayed in the game for the rest of that inning, he did not return to the field after meeting with trainer Ray Ramirez during the bottom of the first.

Andrew Brown replaced Young, who did not make a plate appearance, in left field.

"It feels like a bad dream," Young said. "It's the last way you want to come with a new team. I feel terrible about it."

The Mets officially classified Young's injury as a tight right quad, and manager Terry Collins indicated after the game that he would discuss his options -- including a possible disabled list stint -- with general manager Sandy Alderson. If Young must miss significant time, the Mets may simply keep Brown -- who was tentatively slated to go back to Triple-A Las Vegas this weekend -- on the active roster.

The game was Young's first with the Mets after signing a one-year, $7.25 million deal with the team this winter.

"He warmed up before the game and absolutely felt no problem," Collins said. "It goes to show you when you're warm and you're running sprints, you feel great until you've got to go stand out there for two or three or five minutes. He went after that ball in the corner and felt it grab, so he came off."

Young's injury altered what had been an unorthodox pregame lineup for the Mets. Because Eric Young entered the day 0-for-8 lifetime against Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez, Collins chose to bat Juan Lagares leadoff and keep Eric Young on the bench. Collins said that although he used Chris Young in the leadoff spot multiple times during Spring Training, he prefers to have his power bat lower in the lineup.

That means that at least for now, Eric Young and Lagares will exclusively split leadoff duties for the Mets.

Despite the absence of Young, Collins' lineup will receive a boost Thursday, when second baseman Daniel Murphy returns from paternity leave. Though Murphy received criticism on local sports-talk radio for missing two games due to the birth of his son, Collins and Alderson both said the second baseman was well within his rights.

Major League Baseball established a paternity-leave list several years ago so that teams would not have to play shorthanded in these situations. To that end, the Mets on Wednesday recalled Wilmer Flores from Triple-A Las Vegas, starting him at second base in what should be a one-day patch.

"The paternity-leave policy was introduced not just for the player's benefit, but I think recognition by clubs in contemporary times that this is an appropriate time for parents to be together," Alderson said. "So I've got absolutely no problem whatsoever with Murph being away."

Anthony DiComo is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @AnthonyDicomo. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.